Raiders' Josh McDaniels Wednesday Silver and Black Update

HENDERSON, Nev.--Coach Josh McDaniels of the Las Vegas Raiders has the Silver and Black coming off of their bye week (1-4) and ready to get back in the win column.

McDaniels is keenly aware that the season is far from over and he took time moments ago at his Wednesday update to discuss the state of the Silver and Black.

You can watch the entire press conference below, and read the transcript:

Head Coach Josh McDaniels

OPENING STATEMENT: “Getting ready for Houston. Obviously, this is a team that I would say our team doesn't know very well. And in looking at them, Lovie [Smith] does such a great job of - they're very consistent from one year to the next. I've coached against him and his teams many times. They have a very straightforward style. They're going to play no nonsense football, they're tough, they're physical, they take care of the ball on offense, they create turnovers on defense. They're very good in the kicking game, one of the best teams that we'll play in terms of the challenge in the special teams area. So, this is going to be an important three days for us to really get familiar with the style that they use, which is different than what we've seen so far, especially on defense. [They've] got some really good players, young players offensively, [Dameon] Pierce, [Davis] Mills, [Nico] Collins, of course we know [Brandin] Cooks. But they've got a number of players who can make big plays on offense, two really good returners that are tough to tackle, one in the kickoff return area, the other one in the punt return. And then defensively, this is a team that creates a lot of negative plays in the running game, can turn the ball over. [They've] got a lot of pass breakups, one of the leading teams in the league in terms of getting their hands on balls in the secondary. And again, some of that comes with the pressure that they get on the quarterback and the ball is thrown too early. So, it's a team coming off of a victory against Jacksonville where they really did a good job of closing that game out. They've been in a lot of close games like we have, so this will be a big challenge this week."

Q: Coming off a bye week, how important is the first practice back for you to get a feel for where this team is mentally and physically?

Coach McDaniels: “I don't want to place an over importance on it. I would expect today not to be perfect, because they've had some time to rest and recover and try to get themselves ready to go here for a stretch of games. So, I think that's going to be important to just get out there and get acclimated - reacclimated if you will. We'll be in pads. My expectations aren't her, I think they're more realistic, but that's okay. We'll work through that, every team goes through this. You have an opportunity to get some time away and time off, your mind off football a little bit and then you get back to it, there's going to be some things you need to clean up from today's practice. But I think if our energy and our attitude is any indication of what today might look like, I'll be very content with the way we work today."

Q: A lot of times during the bye week you do some self-assessment and self-scouting. Were there any conclusions that you guys were able to get an idea of what kind of went wrong over those first five games and things that you need to focus on?

Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, I think there's a lot of things you can do better, and I think we've talked about some of those in the past. But certainly trying to cut down and limit our penalties offensively, which have put us in a lot of long-yardage situations, more third-and-longs than you really ever want to be in to start a season. So, making smart decisions, playing with great technique and focus to try to limit the amount of times you're hurting yourself offensively, I think is something we've talked about. We've talked about it for the first five games too, so hopefully we can make some progress there. Our ability to play better in the red zone on both sides of the ball is obviously something that's going to be of importance to us as we move forward, and we're going to try to address that each day in practice. And then try to get something going in our return game. Among many things, those are three areas we've really kind of focused on and talked about, and I think those are easy to see. We don't rank super high in the league in those categories, so areas we can certainly make progress in."

Q: You guys placed Nate Hobbs on IR earlier this week. He's a guy that we've seen line up in different spots and make plays so far this season. What kind of loss is it not having him?

Coach McDaniels: "He's one of our best players and a guy that plays a lot of positions, moves around a lot, very competitive in coverage, good blitzer, good tackler, brings an element of physicality on every play. But it's like the other things we've dealt with this year, every team does it. We're not unique. Nobody feels sorry for us, we don't want that. We've got other guys that are ready to step in, and I don't know that they'll duplicate his role, but they'll share the burden. So, looking forward to seeing our guys do that. Anthony [Averett] will be back on the practice field today, which is good, along with DJ Turner. It seems like one leaves and one comes back. You're hopeful that you can obviously make up for it with other people, which we will, and hopefully look forward to getting Nate [Hobbs] back."

Q: There have been a lot of plays highlighted recently on roughing the passer, key plays – you had one of them in the Kansas City game. Even more than usual, do you think defensive players are confused now as to what's going to be called and what they can do?

Coach McDaniels: "Boy, that's a great question. I don't know if confused is a good word. I think everybody understands the point and what we're trying to avoid. I think the guys that play that position are obviously unique, and we all want our quarterback to remain healthy as long as we can. And so the goal is obviously the right goal. I think sometimes it takes away from the aggression that the defensive players need to play with. And for that, I feel like it's a tough situation because I've seen some other scenarios where you got a guy in the grasp and you want to take him to the ground and you want to take him to the ground hard and you don't, and then he kind of squirts away. I saw one of those games this week where that happened, and it's like I don't blame the defensive guy for not really just landing on him with all his weight, because they're probably thinking about the consequences of the foul. So it's a fine line. You've got to be aggressive, you're going to have to play hard. You're going to have to try to get to the passer, and then when you get there, you've just got to try to do the right thing. And we've seen all the videos, we've shown all the ways that we feel like they're going to call them, and we're coaching the right things I think. And hopefully we can avoid those fouls, but it's not an easy thing to do. It's not."

Q: Maxx Crosby had one of those against Patrick Mahomes?

Coach McDaniels: "Are you talking about when he didn't take him to the ground? Yeah, well they blew the whistle there which is again a good thing I'd say on both sides. Because again, if you get him in the grasp and the whistle gets blown, that's easier. If the whistle is not blown and you keep playing - as a defensive player, I mean you're taught to tackle him to the ground. By definition your job on defense is just to get the guy with the ball and put him on the ground. So like I said, it's a little bit of a catch-22."

Q: I interviewed a Raider from the '80s and he was saying that what's sort of lost is the grittiness, that nastiness - not dirty, but he even brought up the Steel Curtain, the Lamberts, the Raiders. Does it take away from being able to instill somewhat of a grittiness, nastiness to your football team?

Coach McDaniels: "I still think there's a lot of things we can do that would fall into that category. I think in that one instance, yeah we have to change the way we've coached those things over the years. No question about it. We've all seen hits that are probably on the borderline of being flagged or they get flagged and sometimes players don't care about that because it does - it sends a, let's call it a 'physical message'. I think you can do that in other ways. I think defending the run, I think swarming to the ball, I think tackling people legally, finishing the right way and doing it clean within the confines of the rules. I think all of that is still within our ability to do that. I think it's the one area that we're obviously going to be very cautious about doing something to a degree where we get fouled. And I think that's what we have to do."

Q: You finished Monday's game with one tight end because of injuries. Are you hopeful that Darren Waller and Foster Moreau are going to be back?

Coach McDaniels: "Yes. That's not a prediction."

Q: It's sibling rivalry week. What is the frequency of text messages kind of going up or down?

Coach McDaniels: "We haven't had any. No, these are always interesting. I've got a lot of respect and admiration for my brother and the job he does. He's a very good coach, and these are fun things to look back on years from now talking about you know, when we've played each other and coached against one another. I've tried to recruit my mom and dad to silver and black for sure this week, which I think I'm winning that war right now. But it is what it is. We won't talk a whole lot about football."

Q: Even after the bye Josh Jacobs is still third in the NFL in rushing. What do you think has been the key to his success this year? Especially the last few games just his efficiency?

Coach McDaniels: "I think when you run the football well, usually that's a product of a lot of people doing their jobs. I give credit to our offensive line, give credit to our tight ends. Many times we've had six offensive lineman in the game at the same time. Our fullback, I'd say Derek [Carr] getting us in good plays, the receivers blocking and giving him an opportunity to get started, and then JJ [Josh Jacobs] has just done a tremendous job with his opportunities. I think we had a few games there early in the season where we kind of were playing backwards, we lost control of the lead and then once you lose control of the score, sometimes you lose control of being able to stay balanced as long as you would like, and certainly no team wants to do that. So, there'll be a tug of war on Sunday to try to get control of the score, and they're going to be trying to do the same thing we're doing so that we can hand him the ball and let him do his thing. He's just been tough to tackle, very durable. Obviously he makes people miss in space, he finishes runs the right way and so far he's taking care of the ball. So, just a really good, complete back."

Q: You mentioned that Texans and what they have on defense. They have a young rookie in Derek Stingley who looks really good. What have you seen from him on film early on?

Coach McDaniels: "Yeah. He and [Jalen] Pitre both - the safety. I mean, these guys were two guys that it wasn't surprising that they were drafted where they were in April. [Derek] Stingley is very sticky in coverage, got really good transition ability, good ball skills. He's really learning how to do it at our level now, and he's a guy you're going to have to be aware of in coverage, where he's at. And like I said, same thing with the young safety. He's made a lot of plays, and their entire secondary - like I said, there's very few teams who get their hands on more balls than this team does. So, big challenge for us, those two guys will be part of it."

Q: You've been pretty open about what Denzel Perryman means to the defense on the field and the way he lifts you guys. But by his own admission, talking to him he says it hasn't been this way with all his coaches. He feels like throughout his career people don't understand him, he's kind of a colorful character. What was it about him and you to have that relationship and notice that he can be such a difference maker for you?

Coach McDaniels: "As I've been in the league longer and grown as a coach and a person, I think it's more important for us to get to know the guys and what makes them tick off the field. I think that's as important as the stuff that we do in the meeting room and on the practice field. Denzel [Perryman] has got a lot of things that he's interested in. He's got a great personality. It's not just the physical guy that you see on the football field, there's a lot of other things to him. The depth of a human being is something that if you take time to get into that and to really find out about people, they usually reciprocate that. He's been a great leader, a really good mentor to our football team and a lot of guys on defense, a lot of guys in the locker room period. And obviously, he brings a significant contribution on the field too. So, just fortunate that he's here, fortunate that he's a captain for us and look forward to his leadership here going down the stretch."

Q: Is there a reason why there's no C’s on the jersey for team captains this year?

Coach McDaniels: “Yeah, that's a long story. We're in the process of working through that. They're all captains. 100 percent, they're all captain. So, it's a thing with us and the league trying to get a color. It’s kind of above my head right now, so leave it at that.”

You guys have had flashes this season, but consistency has been something that you are kind of searching for. What goes into finding that consistency, whether it’s on offense or defense from game to game?

Coach McDaniels: “No shortcut. I think the best thing you can do as a football player and a football team is try to produce it on the practice field. We have an hour and 55 minute practice today and trying to simulate what you're going to need on Sunday for three hours. If you can go an hour and 55 minutes and really stay tapped in and focused on your job, do a great job of communicating pre-snap, do your assignment the right way once the ball is snapped. Football is an imperfect game; we're never going to play a perfect game. But I would say just being able to try to replicate the type of competitive stamina that we need to be able to produce more than one quarter, two quarters, three quarters is really what we're working towards. Quite honestly, I think that's what every team is working towards right now. So, the quicker we get there, the better the results, and I know sometimes it's a little painstaking to try to go through that but I think that our team understands that that's where we're at and the faster we get to that point where we can do that in all three phases, I think the results are going to come and they're going to be ones we like.”

Coming off the bye and putting a pulse on the locker room, would you say this a composed group? What’s the attitude of the guys?

Coach McDaniels: “Excited, urgent, and honestly, the best thing I can say is consistent. You wouldn't know today that this is the first day after a bye or anything like that. This feels like a Wednesday that we want to come in here and get our job done the right way. I really love the attitude and demeanor of our team. I think our captains have set a great example for that. And that's what I think they expect of the locker room, and I think that's what they're going to get. don't think there needs to be a radical change and shift in everything. Like I said, I think it's a process. We're focusing on that. I think our players have done a great job of doing that. We're trying to do that as coaches too and remain consistent. And then ultimately, we'll get better and continue to improve, and then the best football you have hopefully you're going to play in the last month or two of the season. That's the goal. So, I think that's what we're going to see today.”

The Raiders return to action this Sunday when they host the Houston Texans. That game kicks off at 1:05 p.m. PDT and can be seen on CBS.

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